Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) Stock Falls 6.2% – Should You Sell?

Cars.com Inc. (NYSE:CARS) shares traded down 6.2% on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $9.55 and last traded at $9.6350. Approximately 122,925 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 946,686 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Cars.com from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered Cars.com from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Cars.com in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Cars.com from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cars.com presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.83.

Cars.com Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $508.27 million, a P/E ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 1.59.

Cars.com (NYSE:CARS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. Cars.com had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 4.73%.The business had revenue of $179.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cars.com Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Cars.com

In related news, Director Jr. Donald A. Mcgovern sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.25, for a total transaction of $98,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 102,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,260,525. The trade was a 7.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Angelique Marks sold 57,980 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.94, for a total transaction of $692,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 149,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,786,653.84. This trade represents a 27.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 3.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cars.com

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amundi bought a new stake in shares of Cars.com in the second quarter worth about $192,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Cars.com in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,118,000. Pale Fire Capital SE increased its stake in Cars.com by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 4,008,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,850,000 after purchasing an additional 51,600 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Cars.com in the second quarter valued at approximately $144,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Cars.com in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.15% of the company’s stock.

Cars.com Company Profile

Cars.com Inc (NYSE:CARS) operates a digital automotive marketplace that connects consumers with automobile dealers and manufacturers. Its platform helps shoppers research vehicles, compare listings, read reviews, explore pricing and incentives, and connect with dealerships when they are ready to buy or sell a vehicle.

The company provides automotive retailers with digital marketing and technology solutions designed to help them attract and engage customers. Its offerings include vehicle listings, dealer websites, digital retailing tools, customer relationship and lead-management services, reputation management, and advertising solutions.